27 February 2013

More than 200 of the nation's leading publicly traded companies are joining two separate actions to oppose Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act at the Supreme Court, reports Bloomberg.

Apple Inc and Morgan Stanley [lead] the corporate group [which] includes Facebook and Intel. [It] will argue in its brief that gay-marriage bans in 41 states harm workplace morale and undermine recruiting.

A larger group of companies -- more than 200, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) -- is also poised to side with gay- rights advocates in a second Supreme Court case, involving a federal law that defines marriage as a heterosexual union. Under that law, known as the Defense of Marriage Act, legally married gay couples can’t claim the federal tax breaks and other benefits available to opposite-sex spouses. The companies in that case are part of a collection of more than 250 employers, including cities, counties and law firms.

Meanwhile: More than 100 lawmakers, politicians and former Republican leaders have now signed on to the Republican SCOTUS brief opposing Prop 8, reports the New York Times.

The list of Republicans on the brief now tallies more than 100, organizers say. It now includes Beth Myers, who ran Mr. Romney’s 2008 campaign and was a senior adviser to him in 2012. The brief, organized by Ken Mehlman, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee who is gay, will be filed on Thursday as a friend-of-the-court, or amicus, brief to a lawsuit that seeks to overturn Proposition 8.

Towleroad published a list on Tuesday of the Republican signatories so far. The list includes Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, former Reagan budget director David Stockman, former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, former California Rep. Mary Bono Mack ... and Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman, the former California Republican gubernatorial nominee who infamously supported Proposition 8 and vowed to defend it in court.

23 September 2011

Failed California Republican gubernatorial nominee and billionaire former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has been named the new chief executive of troubled Hewlett Packard.

HP, considered the original Silicon Valley tech company, has been engulfed in turmoil for years, especially since the ouster of former CEO Mark Hurd last year in a scandal over his relationship with a female contractor. More recently, the company has confused investors and consumers with a new strategy, jettisoning a TouchPad computing device after only a few weeks on the market and announcing plans to consider spinning off its personal computer division.

Whitman replaces former CEO Leo Apotheker after less than a year. Most of the 12 members of HP's board of directors reportedly "had not even met" with Apotheker when he was hired. Most of the board has been replaced.

Whitman sunk about $145 million of her personal fortune into her failed bid for governor. "Each vote she received cost her about $45," reports NYT. "The Democratic candidate Jerry Brown, who spent little by comparison, handily won." Whitman opposed marriage equality and promised to vigorously defend Proposition 8 against its current legal challenge if elected.

“At the time of the oral argument that has been scheduled for the week of December 6th, even were Whitman or Cooley to have won the election, they will not have taken office – the new officeholders don’t take office until Jan. 3. 2011. In addition, at that point, the time to file an appeal from Judge Walker’s ruling will have long passed. So, even were they to win, they would not be able to appeal Judge Walker’s ruling if Schwarzenegger and Brown do not – and they have indicated they will not. In addition, Whitman and Cooley would not be able to participate in the oral arguments as parties.

They might seek to file amicus briefs. The deadline for filing such briefs is 7 days after the brief is due from the party you are supporting. Amicus briefs in support of the proponents of Prop. 8 are due September 24th. It would be unusual for a candidate for political office to file an amicus brief on a measure that they might be in more of a position to weigh in on were they elected, though I guess it could happen. ... If they get elected, Whitman and/or Cooley might also seek to file an amicus brief after their election or after they are sworn in, which would be after the oral argument. They would need to seek permission to file late. There is no way of knowing whether the Ninth Circuit judges hearing the case would grant such a request to file late.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who declared the initiative unconstitutional
August 4 in a landmark ruling, has suggested that only the state has
"standing" to defend the law. The appeal will be heard in San Francisco on December 6th.

Whitman said, "The issue right now is, as I understand is 'Will
Proposition 8 have the appropriate support to actually make an appeal to
the circuit court of appeals?'And I think the governor, the attorney
general today has to defend the constitution and has to enable the
judicial process to go along and has to enable an appeal to go through.
So if I was governor, I would give that ruling standing to be able to
appeal to the circuit court." Whitman's campaign later told The Bee that she would become a defendant in the appeal of Walker's ruling if needed.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who declared the initiative unconstitutional August 4 in a landmark ruling, has suggested that only the state has "standing" to defend the law. The appeal will be heard in San Francisco on December 6th.

"The results gave women the Republican nominations for the two most
powerful statewide political offices for the first time. Democrats on Tuesday confirmed the obvious, selecting Atty. Gen. Jerry
Brown as their nominee to the governor's office he first held in 1975,
and Barbara Boxer to seek her fourth term in the U.S. Senate. Both had
only nominal competition. Whitman was decisively ahead of state Insurance Commissioner Steve
Poizner from the first returns. Poizner had spent $24 million of his own
money on the race, but the former EBay chief buried his donation with
at least $71 million of her own, a California record. The results set a November match-up between Brown, 72, a career
politician who has been secretary of state, governor and Oakland mayor
before his current post, and Whitman, 53, who volunteered in the 2008
presidential campaign but whose previous political involvement before
that was so tentative that she rarely voted."

Karen Ocamb at LGBT POV wraps the LGBT and LGBT-friendly candidates that triumphed in local races, including the election of the second openly gay Latino to the California Assembly.

"As of midnight, with more than half of the precincts reporting,
Victoria Kolakowski, a transgender administrative law judge and attorney
for over 20 years is leading in her race for Alameda County Superior
Court Judge with 46.11% of the vote, compared to her nearest competitor
with 31.52% of the vote...In Southern California, openly gay Ricardo
Lara, a founding member of HONOR PAC, appears to have won his race in
the 50th Assembly District in the East LA area. He becomes the second
openly gay Latino in the state Legislature in California history...And
in what openly gay Assembly Speaker John A. Perez described as a “huge
win,” pro-gay Democrat Matt Gatto beat National Organization for
Marriage favorite Sunder Ramani who 'used H8 card with the Armenian
community,' which backfired."

California's 50th Assembly District is in Los Angeles County and includes Bell Gardens, Commerce, Lynwood and South Gate. Lara joins Speaker John A. Pérez as the legislature's second openly gay Latino.

Outgoing California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass won the Democratic primary for
California's 33rd congressional seat in Los Angeles, reports the Los Angeles Times. "Bass, termed out of the Assembly and running to succeed Rep. Diane
Watson (D- Los Angeles) in one of only two open congressional seats in
California this year, trouncedpolitical newcomer Felton Newell, a
deputy Los Angeles city attorney, and two other Democrats." Bass has supported LGBT rights and marriage equality and was quite criticalat the racial
hostility directed at the black community by
some gay activists after the passage of Proposition 8.

And in Arkansas, conservative Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln survived a run-off from progressive candidate Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. "Lincoln used a down-home pitch and the clout of the Democratic
establishment to turn back Halter, the unions and an anti-incumbent tide
that had already claimed two Senate colleagues. She defined herself as a
sensible moderate in a polarized capital and leaned heavily on
endorsements from President Obama and Bill Clinton."

02 March 2010

California Attorney General Jerry Brown announced he will run for governor.

The Los Angeles Times: "Brown, 71, a former two-term governor of California from 1975 to 1983, attempted to contrast himself with his Republican opponents, particularly Meg Whitman, the former EBay chief who has never held office before. ... Brown also sought to use voters' frustration with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who came into office without having been elected before the 2003 recall, to argue against repeating that pattern with Whitman, and to a lesser degree, the other GOP contender, one-term Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. 'Some people say that if you've been around the process, you can't handle the job, that we need to go out and find an outsider who knows virtually nothing about state government, 'Brown said. 'Well we tried that, and it doesn't work. We found out that not knowing is not good.' "

"Asked to reconcile her stance against same-sex marriage with her willingness to allow gays and lesbians to adopt children, Whitman said she believes the term 'marriage' should apply only to the union of a man and a woman. Still, she's in favor of granting equal rights to gay people through civil unions and domestic partnerships. She approves letting gays adopt because "many kids need a great home."

Is gay adoption controversial in California? I don't think it is. But a cookie for Whitman for agreeing that "many kids" need a home.

Whitman, who had described herself earlier as objective, admitted
she had voted for Prop. 8. She said that decision had to do with both
her religion—Presbyterian—and her emotions. "What happened to
the objective CEO lady?" asked her challenger. "Now you're emotional.
... You're all objective about everything; this issue you talk about
emotions."

To the questioner, Whitman's blaming her vote on her
religion didn't make sense. "I'm also Catholic; that's not going to fly
for me. ... 'I have children who are unprotected. It's a matter of
legal rights. It's a legal issue. I pay taxes just like you. Why do you
get more rights than I do?' "

The discussion was civil, said the
questioner, who admitted, "I was testy. She was not. ... When Whitman
said, 'You know, I just wish we could have one term for everything:
civil unions,' I said, 'Bingo, sold, I'll take it.' "

Would Whitman propose this during the campaign asked her challenger.
That question wasn't answered. "She wouldn't say anything. ... She
wouldn't say yes. ... She would not say, 'OK, I will do that.' "

Whitman—branding herself as a centrist, technology-friendly successor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger—initially supported anti-gay
right-wing technocrat Mitt Romney and later John McCain in the 2008 election. "She wasn't expecting such a liberal crowd," said her challenger.
"She said she didn't want it to be about social issues. I think she
hates dealing with these issues."

Awww poor baby. Does Meg only want to talk about micro-lending and TIFF increment financing? Welcome to politics. Oh and good luck convincing millions of Californians to trade in their "marriage" for a "civil union."

"I don't know the answer to that question," Whitman responded when
asked her stand on school vouchers, a perennial issue of importance to
the conservatives who dominate her party's primary.

Views that could potentially attract or alienate all manner of voters emerged on the subject of gay marriage.

Explaining her support for Proposition 8, the November measure that
banned same-sex marriage, she called it a "matter of personal
conscience and my faith."

But Whitman, a Presbyterian who supports gay civil unions, said the
thousands of same-sex marriages that took place last year before the
ban should be legally recognized—a sentiment opposed by many
Proposition 8 backers. Moreover, she said, gay and lesbian couples
should be able to adopt children.

Whitman did not register as a Republican until 2007 and says she was too "busy" to vote in many California elections. "As
an 'extraordinarily busy' mother and traveling executive, she said, she 'didn't vote as often as I should, and it's something I regret. And no
good excuses for it. Wish I had. Should have.' "

Coulda woulda shoulda ...

Adoption by gay couples in California is not necessarily a controversial issue in California. Whitman's triangulation on gay marriages performed before the ban—now that's bound to cause some problems in the primary. It is timely to note that Whitman described herself as a Presbyterian who supports civil unions. This week the Presbyterian Church USA announced it was forming a committee to study same sex unions and would issue a report by 2010.

10 February 2009

Sorry for not reporting this bit of hilarity last night. Meg Whitman, the former chief executive officer of eBay, officially declared her intent to run for governor of California. Whitman is running as a Republican—but did not register as a Republican until 2007.

The move by the billionaire businesswoman—establishment of an
"exploratory" committee – likely sets up what's expected to be an
expensive 17-month auction between herself and Insurance Commissioner
Steve Poizner in the 2010 Republican primary.

Whitman is pitching herself as a financial expert in tough economic times.

"California faces challenges unlike any other time in its history – a
weak and faltering economy, massive job losses, and an exploding state
budget deficit," Whitman said in a statement. "California is better
than this, and I refuse to stand by and watch it fail."

The
52-year old is a political rookie who has never held elective office.
If elected, she would be the first female governor in California
history.

Whitman is likely to be re-packaged as a centrist, technology- and business-friendly replacement for Gov. Schwarzenegger but that would be misleading. In the primaries, Whitman first supported anti-gay right-wing technocrat Mitt Romney and then John McCain. And while most Silicon Valley Republicans are more concerned with lower taxes than right-wing screeds such as gay marriage, Whitman was a major supporter of Proposition 8, California's recently passed ban on same-sex marriages. The former eBay executive was only one of 3 likely Republican gubernatorial candidates to support the ban.

Tech industry blog Vallleywag reports gay and lesbian eBay employees, "an influential group within the company, are especially furious at her betrayal." Henry Gomez, the former eBay communications honcho who's serving as an advisor to
Whitman, tells Gawker that Whitman's stand "was 'a personal issue.'
Many gay eBay employees agree. They see Whitman's stance as a deeply
personal betrayal. As the CEO of a company in a liberal industry in a
liberal region, Whitman never gave a hint that she didn't value gay and
lesbian employees' relationships."

Whitman's business and technology credentials are also being mocked. "The new fees eBay pushed on sellers have tarnished her image as a friend of small businesses, " Vallleywag reports. "And her failure to secure key domain names, like meg2010.com, combined with her failed attempt to reclaim them from the man who registered them, hardly makes her seem tech-savvy."